


The Long Fall

by ApolloAttraction



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, references to people being alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 16:30:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6863089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApolloAttraction/pseuds/ApolloAttraction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whenever you fall in love with someone, the first words they say after you realize you are in love appear on your left wrist. When you fall out of love with them, the next words they say after you realize it appear on your right wrist. </p>
<p>David doesn’t even realize he’s falling in love, let alone how to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Long Fall

David Alleyne falls in love once.

And it happens so incredibly slowly that he doesn't even realize he's falling until Nori kisses him and breathlessly says, “I couldn't wait one more second for you to make a move.”

The words curl lovingly around his wrist and he kisses her again.

They're together all through high school.

“I'm going to California for college,” She tells him solemnly. “We need to take a break.”

“We'll be fine,” he insists.

At graduation she kisses someone else and says “I don't love you anymore.”

But the words don't appear on his wrist and when he says, “We don't have to end things just because you're moving away,” they don't appear on her wrist, either.

So they try to make it work.

And it turns out that David falls out of love just as slowly as he falls in it.

“Nori,” he says softly one night; it's 3am and they've been talking on the phone since seven.

“Yea, David?” She asks, not sounding nearly as tired as he expects her to.

“Your words are on my right wrist?” It comes out as a question and he hears her giggle at it.

“They are?” She says in amusement.

The smile in her voice is beautiful and he hopes that falling out of love doesn't mean leaving friendships behind as he answers. “Yes. You said ' _I'm actually vegan now,'_ and that's going to be on me forever, you know.”

Nori laughs hard at that. “You should have picked a better time to stop loving me.”

“There's no good time for that.” David lays his head down on his folded arms, tucking the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he stares sleepily at the words on his right wrist. “What does mine say on you?”

“' _California is full of hipsters'_ ” she supplies.

He hums, “When did I say that?”

“Few months ago,” she answers.

“Oh,” he pouts. “At least it's true.”

“Yours is true, too.” She tells him and he can picture the tiny smile on her face.

He snorts, “I give you a month before you binge on ninety packs of bacon.”

“Ninety?” She repeats skeptically. “Go to sleep, David; you're getting hyperbolic.”

“I'm being totally literal,” he retorts drowsily.

“Goodnight, David.” She says.

“'Night,” he replies. The phone clicks and he hears the dial tone before he sets it aside.

With the help of several scholarships, he overloads his freshman year of college with both online and classroom courses to the point that he's got his associate's degree before most people even have half their credits done.

“How are you alive?” Nori asks in awe.

“I don't know,” David answers, sounding exactly as runned-down as he feels.

“You're not going to do your bachelors the same way are you?” She asks, tone bordering on reprimanding.

“Absolutely not.” he swiftly answers.

“Good.” She says.

There's a pause, then he says, “I think I'm going to take a gap year.”

“You deserve one after what you just put yourself through.” Her voice is full of approval. “What are you going to do?”

“Get a job,” he says and leans back in his desk chair until it squeaks.

She groans. “No, David, that's not what gap years are  _for_ .”

“I'm diversifying my resume,” he says nonchalantly.

“ _Exactly_.” She hisses. “You need to take some time off and chill.”

“How would I explain the gaps in my resume if I did that?” he asks in confusion. 

“Oh my  _ god _ ,” she huffs. “You say you were young or something. No one's going to care when you're twenty-five with a  _ doctorate _ , anyway!”

“Okay,” he pauses, “What would I  _ do _ if I didn't get a job?”

“Have fun? Call up that hot guy from your internship last summer?” She suggests like it's obvious.

“I'm pretty sure he  _ still _ has a boyfriend,” David adds.

He can almost hear Nori shaking her head as she says, “You  _ need _ to do something easy so that you don't burn out.”

“I'll think about it,” he says before they switch to another topic for an hour before deciding that they definitely need to sleep before one a.m. rolls around.

And he does think about it.

He ends up getting a job, anyway.

But he gets a customer service job, because that  _ should _ be easy enough, he assumes.

Of course, he has misjudged both the stupidity and irrationality of the common people to the point where managing a help line is more frustrating than juggling 60 credit hours worth of classes. One day, after helping a particularly infuriating customer, he snaps at his manager.

He gets chewed out for ten minutes.

He thinks about throwing down his name tag and walking out, but the idea of having to explain that to future employers gives him just enough resolve to stay.

Lunch rolls around and he's on his way to get his lunchbox from the breakroom when he feels someone tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, you look young enough that you won't talk my ear off about retirement; want to grab lunch?” A young man with an infectuous grin asks.

Judging by the puffy beige jacket branded with the company's logo, David guesses that he's a warehouse stocker. Actually, he's pretty sure he's seen the guy around- either attempting to joke with the older workers or guzzling down coffee in the break room. David's feeling just frustrated enough with his work environment that he doesn't mind leaving the food he's already prepared so long as it also means leaving the building. “Sure,” he answers. “I'm David.” He holds out his hand for a handshake.

“Tommy,” the man introduces himself with a smile and high-fives David's extended hand.

They go out for noodles. Tommy talks the entire time. He rattles on about his brother and his old friends loudly and animatedly. David doesn't have to talk, though every now and then he asks questions or makes noises so that Tommy knows he's still listening. It's nice. It almost,  _ almost _ makes David forget that at the end of the hour he has to return to that god-awful helpline.

When he stops to get coffee the next morning, he buys one for Tommy, too. He's slightly worried that he won't actually see Tommy before the coffee gets cold, but surely enough he's in the breakroom standing next to the coffee pot when David arrives.

“If you don't want to wait until that antique warms up, I may have picked up an extra cup,” David offers as he watches Tommy tap his foot and glare at the pot.

“For me?” Tommy looks up.

“To say thank you for the noodles,” David tells him.

“Thanks, dude!” Tommy beams as he takes the cup from David. “Oh, man, and this is the good stuff, too!”

“Yea, I could never drink the cheap stuff we buy,” David says, slightly embarrased.

Tommy claps him on the shoulder, “What we have here is value-brand swill. This,” he raises the cup, “This just made my day.”

“Well, I'm glad,” David says as a fond smile settles on his face.

“Want to grab noodles again?” Tommy asks.

“Sure,” David replies immediately.

They go out for noodles again and David relaxes as he listens to Tommy rant and ramble about whatever comes to mind.

The next morning, he brings Tommy another coffee.

“We should go out for pho instead of noodles today.” Tommy suggests as he sips the coffee.

“It's the same thing...” David replies and furrows his brows in confusion.

“So, you agree?” Tommy asks with a smug smirk, “We should get lunch together today, too?”

“Well,” David shrugs, “I don't have any other plans.”

Tommy smiles softly, “Good. Pho it is.”

David listens again as Tommy talks about some wild club night. “I don't see how you have the energy to go out after working all day.” David comments.

“It's easy. All you need is youth, redbull, and orange vodka.” Tommy's eyes light up as he gets an idea. “Hey, it's Friday; you should come with me tonight!”

“Oh no,” David shakes his head, “I'm not one for clubbing.”

“Come on, it'll be fun!” Tommy insists.

“Next time, maybe.” David says.

Tommy surrenders, “You're totally missing out.”

David wonders if their system of noodles and coffee will exist on Monday. He brings a cup, just in case. Tommy is in the breakroom with his head on the table and makes the most appreciative noise when David sets the coffee cup down beside him.

“Whatever you want for lunch,” Tommy starts between gulps of the coffee. “It's one-hundred percent yours and absolutely on me.” He lets out another appreciative noise as he finishes off the drink and returns to resting his head on the table.

“Hung over?” David asks knowingly.

“Yes. But. No regrets.” Tommy says and flashes him a bright smile.

Their noodles and coffee system continues over the next few weeks and expands to include both bagels and burgers. Tommy suggests going out clubbing together only once more and David still insists that he isn't the clubbing type.

The conversations during lunch become less one-sided as Tommy starts asking about David's life. “You've got a  _ super-brain _ ,” Tommy says one afternoon. “Why in the world are you answering a telephone and explaining how to turn on computers? You should being working at NASA or something!”

David explains about his associates degree and his gap year. “I'll be back in school next August.  _ Then _ I'll get a job at NASA or something.” David tells him at the end.

Tommy shakes his head, “Oh,  _ okay _ , yea, you totally deserve a break after  _ that _ .”

“Nori said the same thing,” David chuckles. “She didn't want me to get a job, though.”

“Who's Nori? What'd she want you to do?” Tommy asks with a mouthful of noodles.

“She's my best friend. She wanted me to-” he raises his hands and puts air quotes around the next words as he draws them out “have fun.”

Tommy snorts. “Totally unreasonable. You'd have to remove that stick first.”

“What stick?” David asks with a raised eyebrow, walking directly into Tommy's trap.

Nori laughs so hard when he tells her about it that night. “You  _ really _ didn't see that coming?”

“In retrospect, it was pretty obvious,” David says light-heartedly.

“Smartest man in the world and you can't see a  _ your butt _ joke coming,” she taunts and breaks into giggles.

“I'm not the smartest man in the world,” David protests. “And, I was distracted, anyway.”

“By what?” She asks skeptically.

“By talking at all.” he says helplessly. “I usually just listen to him.”

Nori hums thoughtfully, then asks: “Is he cute?”

“What?” David wonders if he's missed something.

“ _ You _ don't listen,” Nori starts. “ _ You _ wait to talk.”

“That's not true.” David replies defensively. Nori stays quiet until he corrects himself, “It's  _ mostly _ untrue.”

“So,” Nori drawls. “ _ Is _ he cute?”

“He's attractive, I guess.” David says plainly.

“Huh,” is Nori's only reply.

“What?” David asks.

“Nothing,” she answers. “I've got to go; I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay...bye...” he replies in confusion.

The noodles and coffee arrangement persists.

“Do you want to catch a movie this weekend?” Tommy asks one day at lunch.

“You're not going out partying?” David asks skeptically.

“My brother is coming into town. I don't think I could be hung over  _ and _ deal with him trying to make sure I don't OD on cup 'o' noodles.” Tommy explains with a shrug.

“You seriously need to add some variety to your diet,” David says with concern.

“I eat other things,” Tommy shrugs, then adds, “Like coffee. And when you're sick of noodles and want burgers.”

David snorts. “What movie were you wanting to see?”

Tommy beams and they hash out the details before the end of their lunch hour.

When they get to the movies, they split popcorn and a large drink (it's only economical, after all) and sit at the back of the theater where they argue over the armrest until Tommy conceeds that David can have it  _ if _ and  _ only if _ Tommy can stretch his arm out over the back of David's chair. 

Of course he agrees; he wants that arm rest!

Nori heaves a sigh when she listens to him talk about it. “Do you even realize that was a date?”

“It was not a date,” David protests.

“Nope, just two dudes, being bros. One-hundred percent platonic. No homo,” she mocks.

“Stop that,” David says sternly.

She laughs, “You did the same thing when we were dating, you know.”

“It wasn't a  _ date _ ,” David insists, bordering on whining. 

He imagines Nori rolling her eyes over the phone. “He's totally dropping hints, then.”

“Maybe?” David conceeds.

“Are you going to do anything about it?” Nori challenges.

“Maybe?” David repeats, completely unsure.

“I swear...” she mutters.

“I'm sure you do,” David replies and they start talking about something less personal.

David and Tommy continue to hang out outside of work, though it's mainly dinner after work.

Eventually, Tommy asks, “Do you want to come over for the Fourth of July?”

“Hm?” David looks at him, obviously caught off guard.

Tommy shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, my brother's coming over and he's bringing his boyfriend and I'm going to feel like a third-wheel the entire time if it's just me and them. I'd really appreciate having a friend there.”

“I don't know...” David replies awkwardly.

“Come, on,” Tommy pleads. “I'd do it for you if you'd do it for me.”

David feels his wrist warm at the same time that his cheeks do. He looks away from Tommy's puppy-dog eyes. “Fine.” He answers.

“Yes! Thank You!” Tommy says excitedly and pulls David into a hug. “You won't regret it- free beer and hot dogs and whatever else Billy makes!”

David laughs a little awkwardly as Tommy pulls away. The bell to start their shifts rings and Tommy heads to the warehouse while David heads up to his cubicle. As soon as he sits down he unbuttons the cuff of his left sleeve and rolls it up to see  _ I'd do it for you if you'd do it for me _ . winding around his wrist. “Damn,” he mumbles to himself as the phone begins to ring. 

When the fourth of July comes up, David gets to Tommy's house before Billy and Teddy. “Wow, I'm just realizing I've never seen you in a T-shirt; I almost didn't recognize you!” Tommy jokes when he gets there. David thinks to comment on never seeing tommy out of a jacket, since he is _still_ wearing one. He doesn't get a chance as Tommy hurriedly asks: “Will you help me finish up the dishes before Billy gets here? I need to make sure that the guest bedroom isn't a mess for them.”

“Sure,” David says and lets Tommy guide him to the kitchen.

“Thanks, you're awesome,” Tommy says and gives him a thumbs up before disappearing to straighten up the guest bedroom. David gawks at the sheer ammount of dishes that Tommy has. For someone who only eats noodles, he has managed to dirty almost every single dish. David sighs and takes off the watch he's been wearing to cover up Tommy's words.

He starts the hot water and soaps up a few dishes before the front door swings open and Tommy's literal twin enters the house. “Tommy?” Billy calls. “You said to walk right in, so I walked in.”

“He's probably not ready,” Teddy tells Billy as he walks in and closes the door behind them. “We should have come later.”

“If we gave him a year, he still wouldn't be ready,” Billy says dismissively. David chuckles at that, drawing their attention. “Oh, Hi,” Billy says awkwardly.

“Hi,” David says, setting the plate he's working on down and drying his wet hands on his pants (since Tommy doesn't have a dish towel.) “I'm David.” He says and extends his hand.

Billy shakes it. “I'm Billy. I've heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise,” David replies, then adds, “Only good things, too.”

Billy snorts, “Yea, right; I know my brother. Speaking of which,” he looks around. “Where is he?”

“He said he was straightening up the guest bedroom.” David answers.

“Teddy, why don't you go help him?” Billy suggests. “He'll only snap at me if I do it.”

Teddy nods and heads off toward the guest bedroom. David turns to go back to doing the dishes, but Billy stops him. “Let me get those; I can't believe he has his guest doing dishes.”

“It's fine, really,” David says quickly.

“I insist,” Billy answers and steps in front of the sink.

“Okay,” David says. He waits a beat as Billy turns the hot water back on and starts to scrub the dishes. “It doesn't seem fair to make you cook  _ and _ clean, though.”

Billy laughs. “Teddy's cooking this time. I just brought the apple pies our moms made.”

“Moms?” David repeats questioningly as he reaches for his watch so he can put it back on.

“It's complicated,” Billy supplies, then nods to his wrist. “Are those Tommy's words?”

“What? No.” David responds immediately as he puts the watch on and adjusts it to cover them up. He hasn't told Tommy about the words yet, and he doesn't know how Tommy will react to them. He was lucky with Nori returning his feelings, but he knows that isn't always the case. And since Tommy hasn't said anything about having David's words on him, he assumes the answer is no, anyway.

Billy gives him a strange look, then shrugs, “My mistake; it just  _ looks _ like something he'd say.”

“Okay,” Tommy says as he rounds the corner with Teddy right on his heels. “The guest bedroom is all fixed up. So, should we start grilling before it gets too dark?”

Billy nods to Teddy, “It's going to be all him this time.”

Tommy raises an eyebrow, “Are you giving up on grilling?”

“I'm not going to say you were right,” Billy starts and Tommy absolutely preens at the words. “But living in New York flats all my life _may_ have affected my ability to properly use a grill.”

Tommy looks to Teddy, “And you don't have that problem?”

“My mom has a bunch of work friends that we barbeque with every Fourth of July,” Teddy replies happily.

“Which he didn't tell me,” Billy starts, “Because he thought it would be entertaining to watch me nearly set my beard on fire.”

“I said you would look _cute_ behind a grill,” Teddy corrects.

At the same time, Tommy says, “That beard deserved to go up in flames.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Billy huffs, though David notices that his face is remarkably clean shaven.

“I don't think anyone is going to forgive Noh for convincing you to grow it out.” Tommy counters.

Billy rolls his eyes, “I'm going to go get the apple pies.”

“Do you have a lighter?” Teddy asks.

Tommy rummages through one of the kitchen drawers and pulls out a small hand lighter. “I broke my grill lighter; will this work?”

Teddy takes the small lighter and gives Tommy a quizzical look. “Broke or ran out of fluid, because-”

“Broke,” Tommy confirms.

Teddy chuckles and says, “I feel like there's a story there.”

“Please don't ask,” Tommy says looking sheepish.

“All right,” Teddy spares him. “Is the grill out back?”

“Just like Memorial Day,” Tommy grins, “But a little further away from the tree, though.”

Teddy snorts as he walks out door.

David thinks to ask about that, but first he needs to know something else: “So, how exactly did you break the grill lighter?”

Tommy groans, but a smile accompanies his words. “Couldn't give me a break, could you?”

“Absolutely not. You told be about dancing topless at a club and falling onto the bartender, so I assume this is even more noteworthy.” David crosses his arms and leans against the counter as he pins Tommy with an expectant look.

“That story ended with free drinks,” Tommy says. “This one just makes me look dumb.” He doesn't look one bit ashamed as he starts to explain, “Do you know the fire-breathing scene from Lilo and Stitch?”

It's hard for David to keep a straight face as he asks, “The one where David set the stage on fire or the one where he actually succeeded?”

Tommy pauses for a moment, then says “Huh. I guess both.”

Billy turns the corner with two glass pie plates. “What did you destroy while imitating disney _this_ time?”

“Nothing important,” Tommy replies with a shrug.

Billy rolls his eyes as he sets the plates down, then looks to David. “He broke a lamp trying to imitate the stick twirling scene from Mulan when he first moved in.”

David looks to Tommy with raised eyebrows, “So, this happens a lot?”

Billy laughs, “Yes. I think it's safe to say that he won't be getting the safety deposit money back from the landlord.”

Tommy pouts. “I've fixed everything I've broken.”

“So far,” Billy replies with a smirk. He gestures to the pies. “Anyway. They're both kosher. The one in the embossed dish is made with real apples. The one in the plain dish is made with apple filling and enough sugar to make an elephant diabetic.”

“Are we eating them now?” David asks as he looks to the pies; they both smell delicious.

“Hell yes,” Tommy says as he grabs a knife from one of the kitchen drawers. “Our moms' cooking is literally the best part of Billy's visits.”

“I love you, too,” Billy says, sounding equally amused and sarcastic.

Tommy cuts both pies and puts a slice of each on a newly cleaned plate before handing it to David. “Try to guess which one is Mary Shepherd's and which one is Dr. Kaplan's.”

David decides not to tell him that he's already got a pretty good idea on that since every doctor he's met is completely against imitation anything and, more importantly, David has _seen_ how much sugar Tommy dumps in his coffee. Instead, he eats small pieces of each and pretends that he's guessing. “I'm going to say Mary Shepherd's is probably the very, uh, sweet one...”

Tommy grins. “That is correct, Megamind! Now,” his grin turns mischievous. “Which one is better?”

“Don't do that to him,” Billy says and gives Tommy's shoulder a brotherly shove.

“You're just worried about the answer,” Tommy says with a hand wave.

“They're both very good,” David tells them, though he's eaten more of Dr. Kaplans' pie.

Tommy snorts, “You pacifist.”

Billy smiles and grabs a plate of his own and puts a slice from each on it before grabbing two forks. “I'm going to take some out to Teddy.”

“We should all head out,” Tommy suggests.

“What about the dishes?” David asks and looks back to the pile in the sink.

Tommy shrugs, “I think we've got enough clean ones to eat on.”

“I can't believe you had your guests washing dishes,” Billy comments as they filter through the door.

“You're not a guest your my brother,” Tommy counters.

“But David,” Billy starts and David listens to them talk back and forth, moving comfortably from topic to topic as the faux argument moved from the current dishes to things that dated way back before David knew Tommy. Teddy joins in as soon as Billy hands him the plate of pie (curiosly enough, he seems to favor Mrs. Shepherd's version of apple pie.) David laughs at the stories and occasionally prompts for more information. He doesn't interrupt. He has nothing to add. He just stands there, absorbing what they say the same way he absorbs concepts and theories from textbooks. He wants to know everything about Tommy.

The burgers finish and Tommy scarfs down two before announcing that he's going to start the fireworks. It's still fairly light so he sets out the small, novelty ones while everyone else continues to chew their food. “Hey, Teddy, where's that lighter?” Tommy asks.

“Over by the grill,” Teddy nods.

“You got lighting sticks, right?” Billy asks.

Tommy ignores the question as he picks up the lighter. The first firework is a small one that spins on the ground and spits out different colors. Tommy holds it with one hand as he lights it.

“At least light it on the ground!” Billy shrieks.

Tommy sets it down as it starts to burn. “Calm down,” Tommy says. “No one's ever died from lighting a fire work.”

Billy tells him, “Over eight thousand people go to the ER every year from fireworks and I'm _not_ letting you be one of them!”

At the same time, David says: “Well, statistically, four people die from fireworks each year.”

Billy and David share a look.

Tommy's eyes go wide and he looks comically betrayed as he says, “You're supposed to be on _my_ side!”

Teddy bursts out laughing.

“Look,” Billy starts. “I'm going to find some paper or something so you won't find a place in the burn ward; don't light anymore until I'm back.” As soon as Billy is in the house, Tommy picks another firework and lights it. It takes Billy seconds to return and he hisses, “What did I _say_ , Tommy?” As he storms over to his twin with a twisted piece of newspaper.

“I'm being super careful; it's nothing to worry about,” Tommy assures him as he digs through a brown paper bag for the next firework.

“Just use it,” Billy says and extends the newspaper to him.

“It'll slow me down!” Tommy protests.

“I'd rather you be slow with ten fingers than fast with nine,” Billy insists.

While they bicker a few feet away, Teddy gently elbows David's side to get his attention. “Tommy always makes things pretty fun, huh?”

“He _does_ add a bit of his personality to everything he does,” David admits.

“I mean, it's pretty endearing,” Teddy says, sounding almost conspiratorial.

“It's something,” David says fondly as he watches Tommy snatch the newspaper from Billy's hands.

“I swear,” Billy says in exasperation as he comes back to stand by Teddy.

Teddy pats him on the shoulder. “Hey, at least you've successfully deterred a trip to the ER.”

“I guess,” Billy says and leans his head on Teddy's shoulder.

David is just a little jealous of their affection.

At least, he is until Tommy deems it dark enough to start the _real_ fireworks. “This one cost so much,” Tommy says with glee as he sets a large black square on the ground and lights the long wick coming out of it. It goes off, peppering large and small bursts across the sky.

“Look at that baby go,” Tommy says with a grin and slings an arm around David's shoulders. “That's awesome!”

David looks at Tommy and watches the light of the fireworks turn his breathtaking smile different colors. Tommy turns his head to look back at him and David feels embarrassed about being caught staring, but Tommy just returns to grinning.

“It's worth whatever it cost,” David says as he looks back to the smoke streaked sky and the dazzling shapes that light it. Very carefully and with much trepidation, he wraps his arm around Tommy's waist.

Tommy stills for a second, then relaxes.

David smiles and thinks to himself that _yea_ they're definitely going to have to talk about _this_ , because the signals he's getting from Tommy right now don't feel entirely platonic.

The fireworks end about five minutes later and Billy says, “Wow. That was amazing; I can't believe your zoning didn't restrict against those.”

“My zoning?” Tommy raises an eyebrow.

“You didn't check it, did you?” Billy grimaces.

“I didn't even know that was a thing.” Tommy says innocently.

Billy laughs, “You're lucky no one called the police.”

“It wouldn't be the first time,” Tommy smirks.

And David wants to know about the other time(s) Tommy had met with the police.

Instead, the conversation moves to whether or not to clean up then or wait until the morning. Morning won out for the fireworks, but the grill and dishes were getting done right then, at Billy's insistence. They all pitch in and once they're done, it's quarter to midnight.

“It's pretty late,” Tommy says as he walks David to the door. “You know, you're welcome to stay here. The couch is free.”

“Maybe next time,” David tells him. “I forgot to water my plants before I left.”

“Will they die without it?” Tommy asks jokingly.

David humors him with a laugh. “Yes, I think they might.” He pats Tommy on the shoulder and let's his hand rest there. “I'll see you at work Monday?”

“I've gotta fix the dent that firework put in my budget somehow,” Tommy grins.

“See you then,” David tells him as he turns and opens the door.

“See you,” Tommy waves before closing the door.

When David gets home, the first thing he does is take off his watch. He runs his right index finger over the words it reveals and smiles to himself. _Smitten_ is the only word he can think of to describe himself as he thinks about how close he and Tommy had been throughout the night. It's embarrassing, and he blushes in spite of himself as he let his hands drop back down to his sides.

On Monday, he finds Tommy leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee already in his hands. “Billy bought it for me,” he explains when he sees David.

“It's okay,” David says with a shrug. “I woke up late and didn't have time to stop, anyway.”

“Oh,” Tommy says as he notices for the first time that David's hands are empty. “Want some?” He offers and extends the coffee.

David deliberates for a moment, then reaches out to take it. Their fingertips brush as the cup trades hands; neither of them is perturbed by it. “Do you still want to get lunch today?” David asks, wondering what happens when one person fails to hold up their end of the arrangement.

“Well, I don't have other plans,” Tommy says coyly.

“Noodles?” David asks between sips of the coffee.

“I've got left over pie for desert, too,” Tommy smiles.

“Mary's or Dr. Kaplan's?” David inquires.

“Which one do you want it to be?” Tommy tries.

David huffs a laugh, “Either one; both of them are good.” He hands the coffee back to Tommy.

“You are no fun.” Tommy shakes his head, then admits: “It's Dr. Kaplans.”

David silently rejoices. The bell for the start of the shift chimes. “I'll see you for lunch.”

The people on the helpline are absolutely happless on Mondays and it's hellish until he's finally released to lunch. It must show on his face because when Tommy sees him, the first thing he says is: “That rough, huh?”

David nods and then jerks his head to the door. “Let's get out of here.”

Tommy nods and they head over to their noodles spot. “I think you deserve pie first,” Tommy says as soon as they sit down. He takes a plastic container from a bag that David hadn't even noticed he was carrying.

“Pie _would_ make things better,” David agrees and takes the container from Tommy.

“I'll go order,” Tommy says and goes to the front counter.

David takes a plastic fork from the container on the table and digs into the pie. It's just as delicious as he remembers and it makes him think about the weekend again.

His determination to talk to Tommy about the marks has severly waivered since then. He's still wearing his watch.

Tommy returns with the food.

David tries to find a way to test the waters. “So, are Billy and Teddy still at your place?”

Tommy shakes his head. “They left this morning.” He stuffs some noodles in his mouth and then adds: “They were insufferable after you left.”

David chuckles, “Did they continue to keep you from accidentally killing yourself?”

Tommy nods fervently, “And they made out while they did it. It was awful.”

“How dare they,” David sarcastically replies. Tommy opens his mouth and, not wanting to lose his chance, David quickly adds, “They're a pretty cute couple.”

Tommy shrugs, “Yea, I guess.”

“I noticed they only have one mark each; how lucky,” David says carefully.

Tommy flinches and ducks his head, “Yea. How lucky,” He repeats, though his words are lifeless.

David thinks about continuing and asking Tommy about his marks (he's seen at least one on each side peek out from the sleeves of his jackets before.) He looks at Tommy's closed off body language and changes the subject, “Wow these noodles are good today.”

It's not the smoothest transition but Tommy eagerly takes it, “I know, right? They must have a new cook or something.”

“Maybe we actually got fresh ones?” David suggests.

Tommy laughs. They keep talking about the noodles for a while and then ease into other topics. They never go back to talking about love marks.

As they walk back to work, Tommy nudges him with his elbow. “Want to go see another movie this weekend?”

“Are there any new ones coming out?” David asks curiously.

“No,” Tommy admits. “But there's still some I haven't seen.”

David shrugs, “Sure.”

The rest of the week passes with casual conversations and a return to their regular noodles and coffee arrangement. When the weekend comes around, David makes a momentous decision. He doesn't wear his watch.

If Tommy notices when they meet up, David can't tell.

“So, are we going to fight over the armrest again, or...?” Tommy asks as they make their way from the concession stand to the theater.

“I think we know who will win,” David says and smiles smugly.

“Same arrangement?” Tommy suggests and David nods.

So, Tommy puts his arm across the back of David's seat when the movie begins.

And David, taking a chance, lays his head on Tommy's shoulder about half-way through.

It's the same as it was on the fourth of July: Tommy stills, then relaxes.

David wonders about that.

Just before the end of the movie, David takes his head off Tommy's shoulder and sits up properly so that neither of them have to deal with the awkward reality of such an intimate position.

Tommy stands up and stretches as the lights come back on and says, “I am _starving_.”

“Do you want to get dinner?” David asks.

Tommy shrugs one shoulder and lets out an akward laugh, “To be honest, I'm kind of out of money now.”

“We don't get another paycheck for a week,” David says with concern.

“Well, I've got enough cup 'o' noodles at my house for a year,” Tommy says.

David shakes his head. “I seriously wonder how you have yet to die from the massive ammount of MSG you eat.”

“A bad diet has many facets,” Tommy says proudly. “Including forgetting to eat sometimes.”

“That's terrifying,” David says and his eyebrows knit together in worry.

Tommy grins, “That is _life.”_

David sighs heavily, “Why don't you come over to my house and I'll make us food that contains _vegetables_ and other things that aren't created in a factory.”

“Thanks, but I'll be fine,” Tommy replies.

David decides not to push the issue. Tommy's old enough to take care of himself.

Still, he brings extra food in his lunch on Monday and only eats half of it.

“I'm stuffed,” David announces loudly.

“You barely touched it,” Tommy says from where he's standing by the microwave, waiting for his noodles to heat up; the old microwave takes forever anyway, even without having to fight other employees for its use.

“You saw how much I brought, right? It was twice this size,” David raises an eyebrow because, really, even if he only ate half of what he brought it was _still_ beyond what a normal serving size should be considered.

Tommy shakes his head, “Well, at least you've got dinner all sorted out then.”

“I've actually got even more leftovers at home and this won't reheat well a second time,” He says and picks up the tupperware. He very conspicuously makes his way toward the trashcan.

“Wait, don't trash it!” Tommy says, sounding completely offended. “I'll eat it.”

“What about your noodles?” David asks and nods toward the (still) warming microwave.

“I'll eat them both,” Tommy says with a definitive nod. “Waste not, want not dude.”

“Well, okay,” David says and hands Tommy the tupperware.

The noodles don't get hot or soft before the bell for the end of the shift chimes, but Tommy has gorged himself on David's leftovers, so it doesn't _really_ matter.

The next day, David brings more than he could reasonably eat of the same leftovers again. This time he says that he's sick of eating the stuff and Tommy eagerly takes it before David even gets up to pretend to throw it away.

On Wednesday, Tommy doesn't bring noodles. He sits down at the break table and eyes David's lunch box. “So, what did you bring me?” he asks.

“What did I bring _you_?” David repeats, trying to sound skeptic.

Tommy chuckles, “Yea. I know what you've been doing.”

“I was worried about your health,” David says plainly as he unpacks the lunch box. Tommy stays silent as he hungrily watches david remove the tupperware. “I made chicken pitas.”

There are four in the tupperware container and he hands two to Tommy. “Thanks,” he says and takes a huge bite out of one. “You know, you're a great cook?” Tommy asks.

“I try,” David replies with a smile. “So, what gave me away? Was I too conspicuous yesterday?”

Tommy snorts, “You were two conspicuous _Monday._ Yesterday was just the nail in the coffin _.”_

“I wasn't sure if you'd accept,” David says with a shrug of his shoulder.

Tommy hums. “You should come over on Friday and I'll order us a pizza.”

“Sure,” David says, recognizing Tommy's offer as the quid pro quo it is.

On Friday their paychecks roll in an Tommy makes sure that David is still coming over for pizza. “What do you like on yours?” Tommy asks, then ammends, “Anything but pineapple.”

“Pepperoni is fine,” David says, then looks up from the paperwork he's filling out, “Shouldn't you be in the warehouse?”

“I'm on my fifteen minute break,” Tommy explains.

“And you're spending it asking what I like on pizza?” David raises an eyebrow.

Tommy shrugs, “We might not get out until after five. Second floor lumpers are moving slow.”

“Oh yea, the warehouse has open-end quit, don't they?” David stops working on his paper. Tommy nods. “So, do you want me to wait on you when I get off?”

Tommy shrugs. “You could just go ahead and I'll meet you there. I keep an extra key under the welcome mat and we shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes behind.”

“Okay,” David pauses. Being alone in someone else's house, even Tommy's, seems really awkward. “Do you have soda? I could stop and get some...”

“Good idea,” Tommy nods. “I've actually been out of soda since the Fourth, so if you'd grab that I'll pay you back when I get off.”

“Deal,” David says. “You need to get back to the warehouse, though.”

“I've still got-” Tommy starts and glances at the clock. “Ha, nope,” Tommy says as he registers the time. “Only a minute late, though...” he waves as he takes off out of the cubicle and down the stairs.

David shakes his head.

He still manages to get to Tommy's house before Tommy does, even with the detour for drinks. Luckily, though, Tommy pulls in right behind him. “Perfect timing,” Tommy chirps as he gets out of the car. “I called the pizza place while I was driving, so hopefully they'll be here soon.”

David nods and grabs the bag of sodas from his car. “We're all set then.”

“Now we just have to find something to Netflix.” Tommy replies as he opens the front door.

“I heard there were a bunch of horror movies added recently,” David tells him as he tosses him one of the cans of coke.

“I was thinking a comedy,” Tommy says as he catches the drink. He flops down onto his couch and uses the universal remote to turn on the tv and bluray.

“Half the horror movies on Netflix _are_ comedies.” David replies and sits himself down next to Tommy with a respectful ammount of space left between them.

Tommy hums, “Okay, lets find something terrible looking, then.” He starts flipping through the options and they start one right as the delivery boy knocks on the door with their pizza. Once they start eating, the conversation turns to praising the pizza and critiqueing the movie. As the movie continues, David is one hundred precent aware of Tommy slowly sprawling out across the couch.

“Comfortable?” David asks when Tommy has all but obliterated the space between them.

“Sorry. Long day,” Tommy says with a small smile and starts to sit back up.

“You're fine,” David offers.

Tommy hesitates for a moment, then kicks his feet up over the armrest on his side of the couch and settles against David's side. “Good,” he comments. They're quiet for a while as they watch the movie (it's actually not _that_ bad.)

“Are you awake?” David asks when Tommy's been quiet for a little too long.

“Yea, just comfortable,” Tommy says.

Tommy looks adorable. David risks running his fingers through Tommy's hair as he says: “The movie's almost over.”

“Want to watch another one?” Tommy offers.

David looks out the window to see the pitch black sky. It's getting late. “Why not?” he replies.

“You pick,” Tommy says and hands him the remote.

David looks through a few options and settles on a comedy. About halfway through the movie, he realizes that Tommy has actually fallen asleep on him. It's not exactly the most comfortable position, but he stays still because he doesn't want to wake Tommy up. Once the movie ends, though, he can't help but try to stretch and accidentally jostles Tommy out of his sleep in the process. “Have a nice nap?” David asks.

“Shit, is the movie over?” Tommy asks as he sits up and rubs his eyes.

“Yes,” David nods.

“How did it end?” Tommy asks as he stands up to stretch. His back cracks a multitude of times and David cringes as he wonders about the lack of calcium in Tommy's diet.

“The misfits embarrassed the jocks and the nerdy guy got with the cheerleader.” David explains.

“Just as expected then,” Tommy says with a small smile. “Sorry I fell asleep on you.”

David shrugs. “It's fine. Do you mind if I stay the night? I didn't realize how late it is and I'm pretty tired.”

“Your plants won't die?” Tommy asks with an eyebrow raised in mocking.

“Only a little,” David conceeds.

“The guest bedroom is open,” Tommy says with a smile as he moves the leftover pizza from its spot on the coffee table to the kitchen counter.

There's a few more minutes where arrangements are made and then they both crash. The guest bed is nice enough and David sleeps well. He wakes up ridiculously hungry, though. He taps on the door to Tommy's room and then cracks the door to ask, “Do you mind if I make breakfast?” Tommy, from where he's curled up under no less than three blankets, sticks his hand out and gives David a thumbs up.

David heads to the kitchen and finds that Tommy's kitchen is, actually, mostly cup 'o' noodles. There are a few things that aren't, including some orange juice, eggs, ketchup, and jalapenos. David decides he can work with what he has.

He turns the range top on (it's actually a _nice_ stove, it seems like such a shame it never gets used,) and finds a clean pan. Eggs are relatively easy to make and they're somewhat healthy, even after he adds some jalapenos and half a noodle flavor pack to them. He turns the kitchen fan on as he pours the egg mix into the pan.

They're just starting to set when he feels a hand on his lower back and Tommy leans across him to look at what's in the pan. “You found that stuff here?” Tommy asks and he's positively salivating as he stares down at the eggs.

“It wasn't the easiest search, but I made it work,” David grins. “I hope you like scrambled.”

“I will eat anything that smells _that_ good,” Tommy says as he tries to pick up some of the eggs directly from the pan.

“Hey,” David protests and swats his head. “Just wait a second; they're almost done.”

“But I'm _starving_ ,” Tommy says and plucks some eggs from the pan and hurriedly pulls away to avoid being swatted again. As he does so, he pecks a kiss to David's cheek. He freezes as soon as he realizes what he's done.

“Okay,” David says as he finds two clean plates and scrapes the eggs onto them. He sets the pan down, turns off the stove and turns to face Tommy, who is doing his best to be nonchalant. David steps close and decides to take a page from Nori's playbook. He kisses Tommy. It's a short press of their lips together, but when he starts to pull back, Tommy's lips chase his own.

Tommy kisses him but pulls back after a moment, “Shit.”

David puts a hand on the back of his neck and brings him back into the kiss. It's everything he's been waiting for as Tommy moves closer, pressing David back into the kitchen counter as he deepens the kiss. David's hand slides down Tommy's neck and over his shoulder. Tommy isn't wearing a shirt and David feels words raised along the top of Tommy's shoulder. He breathes an understanding, “ _Oh.”_

Tommy grabs the hand on his shoulder with his own and brings it away from the words. “ _Yea,_ ” he replies as he breaks the kiss and runs his thumb over the inside of David's wrist where his own words rest helplessly. (David wonders when he noticed them.)“Your words are on me, too.” Tommy admits and beneath how breathy and hopeful he sounds, there's a note of insecurity in his voice.

“You fall in love a lot,” David says as he brings up his free hand to run down Tommy's arm.

“Is it too much?” Tommy asks and lets go of David's hand.

“No,” David tells him immediately. He presses a soft kiss to Tommy's lips. “I just wish you'd told me sooner that you had mine.”

Tommy shrugs and looks away. “I was waiting to see you show up on my right arm.”

“Did I?” David asks as his eyes shift to look at the words curling around that arm.

“No,” Tommy answers with a small smile playing on his lips.

David has never seen him look so timid and uncertain. “I'm glad,” David tells him. “It would have sucked if I'd missed my chance with you.” It's not the most elegant phrasing, but it draws Tommy out of his uncharacteristic shell for a moment.

Tommy smiles slightly, but there is still some hesitance as he says, “You know I'm probably going to keep falling in love even if we're together, right?”

David nods. “I wouldn't expect anything to change.”

“Nothing?” Tommy asks coyly.

David gives him a playful shove to his shoulder. “ _Some_ things,” he corrects himself and presses another kiss to Tommy's lips.

“Good,” Tommy confirms.

“Tommy, about the marks,” David starts right as Tommy reaches around him to pick up a plate of eggs.

“Is there ketchup?” Tommy asks as he starts shovelling eggs into his mouth, officially breaking the moment.

David sighs heavily and answers: “Yes. It's in the door.”

“Perfect,” Tommy smiles.

Tommy sits down at the little used table and David sits across from him. There's a long silence, and then David asks, “Where are my words?”

Tommy points to a spot high on his bicep. “ _'To say thank you for the noodles,'”_ he reads.

“Tommy, that was _forever_ ago,” David chides.

“It happens fast for me,” Tommy says, just a little defensively.

David nods. “It happens really, really slowly for me.”

“The perfect match,” Tommy replies.

David nods to his left arm, “Is that your noodle order?”

Tommy nods, “The cashier there is really nice.”

The way he looks at David as he says it implies that he's expecting David to have an issue with that. “Which one? Molly?”

“No, Karolina,” Tommy corrects.

“Yea, she's really sweet,” David confirms. He points to another one, “What's that say about ' _slightly illegal'?_ ”

“Oh, that's a fun story,” Tommy starts. As he talks, his gaurds start going down. With every word of every story he relaxes more. David keeps asking about different words on his left arm, far past when they both finish their eggs. And Tommy explains them, happily, occasionally pausing to give context to the people they came from.

David listens attentively. He's never jealous and he doesn't make Tommy feel silly for loving people at first sight.

He just listens.

He just wants to know everything about Tommy.

And when Tommy's finished off the last story and David's still sitting there listening, he leans across the table, kisses him, and says: “ _Yea,_ I think we could make this work.”

 


End file.
